HMRC targets inheritance valuations

Date: 7th June 2011

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is increasingly investigating inheritance tax valuations, according to a new report.

Research recently published by UHY Hacker Young has revealed that the department carried out 9,368 investigations last year.

As such, the government raised an additional £70 million in taxes, with an average of £24,600 per case.

Mark Giddens, tax partner in the firm's London office says: "Inheritance tax doesn’t just affect millionaires, but most of middle England where the estate may consist of little more than an average size property and a family member may take on the task of administering the estate themselves."

"If a property is undervalued by £20,000, this could result in an additional £8,000 tax, plus, say, a 30 per cent penalty of the additional tax, making a total of £10,400. That is a considerable sum of money to raise when the estate and its beneficiaries may not be very cash rich."

Posted by James Curtis